Strange Specimens for Samuel Salt
With no one to challenge their going but the birds and monkeys, the
little band made its way back to the sandy beach. Tandy, perhaps
because he had been so long pent up in the silent jungle and because he
was by nature a naturally sober and solemn little boy, said nothing.
Not even the _Crescent Moon_, riding so proudly at her anchor, seemed
to arouse any interest or enthusiasm in this strange young Ozamalander.
"Well, here we are!" exclaimed Ato, heartily thankful to be in sight
of the ship again. "And I hope you'll not mind ferrying us out to the
boat, Nikobo; those crocodiles still look hungry and I've no notion of
being crocked for the rest of my life."
"Any time you say," grunted the hippopotamus, squeaking a listless
greeting to a company of her own relatives who were rolling lazily
about in the muddy river water.
"Avast and belay and what's the hurry?" Leaning his ax against a tree,
Samuel moistened a finger and held it up. "The wind's against us,
Mate, so we'll have to wait for the tide. Not only that, but Roger and
I must survey the island and dig up some more interesting specimens
to take back to the ship." After a long and rather quizzical look at
Tandy, Samuel turned and swung along the beach, the Read Bird flapping
joyously behind him.
"Run up and down a bit," advised Ato, sliding down from Nikobo's back.
"Your legs must need stretching. Wonder if there's anything to eat
around here or hereabouts? Aha, those look like oranges, a wild orange
grove, as I'm a cook and a seaman. Come along, young one, and help me
gather a few."
"A King and son of a King's son does not come and go at another's
bidding," announced Tandy, stiffly, alighting from the hippopotamus.
"Merciful mothers! What's this?" gasped Ato, blinking his eyes rapidly.
"As complete a case of ingrowing Royalitis as I've ever had the
misfortune to encounter. Well, since it's every King for himself, then
I'll be leaving you, sonny and son of a King's sonny. Watch out for
him, Kobo, he's probably real important to himself."
"You should not speak like that," reproved the hippopotamus as Ato
disappeared into the orange grove, "after all, the big and fat one is
himself a King."
"Pooh, King of some potty little island," sniffed Tandy, leaning
wearily against a palm. "Break me a cocoanut, Kobo, I'm thirsty."
With a discouraged sigh Nikobo trod on one of the cocoanuts, cracking
it from end to end and then, because she was a generous and kindly
creature, she cracked several more for Ato when he should return.
Sitting back on her haunches, she anxiously watched while Tandy downed
the cocoanut milk, then, stretching out in the sand, fell unconcernedly
asleep. Thus Ato found them when he emerged from the orange grove an
hour later. His elegant explorer's cape was knotted to form a sack
and bursting full of the small sweet fruit of the wild orange trees.
"These will make us a fine mess of marmalade when I get back to the
ship," panted the perspiring monarch, settling down with his back
cozily to Nikobo's. "How's young Saucebox?"
"All right." The hippopotamus nodded in Tandy's direction. "He is so
small and tired," she murmured worriedly, "and you must know he has
been exposed in an open cage in the jungle for five long months with
only a miserable hippopotamus for company."
"Miserable hippopotamus," snorted Ato indignantly. "You're a very
superior animal, my girl. I'd consider it an honor to converse with
you any day. Did you crack these cocoanuts for me?" As Nikobo, trying
bashfully to conceal her pleasure at Ato's praise, admitted she had,
the King took several long, satisfying draughts from the shells.
"Now, don't you worry about that young sprout," he advised kindly as
Nikobo continued to gaze mournfully at the sleeping boy. "We'll make
allowances for his High and Mighty Littleness and set him down in his
own country. That is, if we ever manage to find it, though I must say
he'll not be much use nor company for us. Ahoy! Here comes Sammy.
Wonder what he's found?" As a matter of fact, the Royal Explorer of Oz
looked more like a walking window box than a seaman. Long vines hung
from his neck and trailed from his pockets. His arms were crammed with
spiked and prickly plants and on his head he balanced a package of sea
shells tied up in his shore-going coat.
"What you going to do, start a conservatory?" roared Ato as Roger
helped the Captain set his treasures on the ground.
"Rare and unusual, all of 'em," said Samuel, dropping down beside Ato
and looking with complete satisfaction at his curious collection.
"Mind those yellow creepers," warned Nikobo, wiggling her vast snout
warningly. "Those purple flowered plants in the middle are treacherous,
too. They are tumbleweeds, Master Long Legs, and 'tis from them
Patrippany Island gets its name. When the Leopard Men fought, they
would fling these weeds at one another, and I've seen them falling
about for hours, neither side being able to advance a step or even
stand up."
"Tumbleweeds!" breathed Samuel ecstatically. "You don't SAY! Why, these
might come in real handy if we ever get in a tight place. I'll give a
few to the Wizard of Oz and to the Red Jinn when we get back from this
voyage. And what about the yellow creepers, Mate? Are they fighting
plants, too?"
"The creepers, if uprooted and thrown at an animal or man, will creep
rapidly after him, catching him no matter how fast he runs and tying
him up so tight he will not be able to move until the vine withers,"
explained Nikobo solemnly. "I happen to know from an experience I had
with one of these vines in my early youth."
"Creeping vines," shivered Ato, moving as far away from Samuel's
collection as possible. "Just keep them away from me, Sammy. What right
have such things on a ship?"
"Oh, they'll be harmless enough when they're potted," answered Samuel
easily. "And a splendid weapon they'll make for some up and coming
country."
"Better keep them for ourselves," advised Roger, fluttering down to
Samuel's shoulder. "Exploring's a dangerous business, if you ask me,
Master Salt."
"Well, you'll have to admit that it's been pretty safe and successful
so far," said Samuel, clasping his hands behind his head and gazing
contentedly up at the waving fronds of the palm trees.
"SAFE!" The ship's cook began to shake and quiver all over. "Ho, ho!
Safe? Especially sailing round that volcano and going swimming with the
crocodiles! Safe! You'll be the death of me yet, Sam-u-el. Have you
planted your Oz flags and told the wild creatures in the jungle about
their new sovereign?"
Roger nodded his head importantly. "We've raised Oz flags on the
tallest trees on the East, South, West and North sides of the Island.
I flew across and got a bird's eye view while the Captain walked clear
'round. We've discovered it's bean shaped, King dear, the exact shape
of a kidney bean, and a fine fertile place for settlers and prospectors
from Oz."
"Yes, all they have to do is cut down a million trees, drain the swamps
and train the wild beasts in the jungle to be as polite and considerate
as Nikobo here."
"Well, what of it? That's their problem." Samuel stretched himself,
luxuriously snapping each finger to see that it was still working.
"And now, since our part is done, what do you say to waking this son
of a King's son and getting aboard the ship? The tide'll run out in a
couple of hours and carry us along." Tazander had been awake for some
time listening to the conversation with closed eyes. Now sitting up, he
calmly spoke his mind.
"I'm not going with you," he stated grandly. "I'm going to stay here
with Kobo till my own people come for me."
"Hah! Mutiny!" Leaping to his feet, Samuel glared down at the puny
youngster with real anger and exasperation. "If you think I'm going to
leave you on this island to be devoured by wild animals when Nikobo's
back is turned, you don't know your pirates. CLIMB up on that animal.
Lively, now!" Samuel looked so fierce and threatening, Ato felt rather
sorry for the stubborn little King, but he was wasting his sympathy.
"I'm not going," said Tandy, settling more determinedly down into the
sand. "And no one can make me."
"Don't say that! Don't say that!" Blubbering with grief at the thought
of losing her small charge and shivering with anxiety lest he arouse to
further anger this tall sea captain, Nikobo lumbered to her feet and
began to whisper eagerly in Tandy's ear. During this short conference
Samuel gathered up his specimens and Ato his oranges, and when both had
finished the hippopotamus edged nervously forward.
"I've decided to go with you," she announced in a slightly shaken
voice. "If I go, Tandy'll go, so I'll just GO!"
"WHAT?" roared Samuel Salt, dropping his shells and clapping his hand
to his forehead. "Well, that practically solves everything!" Looking
wildly from the hippopotamus to the _Crescent Moon_, Samuel had a
dreadful vision of Nikobo rolling dangerously from side to side of his
cherished vessel.
"What'll you eat?" demanded Roger, who was ever more practical than
polite. "How'll we ever feed this enormous lady, Cook dear? Besides,
she'll sink the ship."
"I'll be very quiet and stay wherever you put me," murmured Nikobo in a
meek voice. "I'll go on a diet and eat whatever is left."
"Well, why couldn't she go?" proposed Ato, who already had formed a
great liking for Tandy's devoted guardian. "Why couldn't she? Nice kind
motherly creature that she is!"
"But a hippopotamus needs fresh water and tons of food and--" Then
suddenly Samuel brought his hands together with a resounding smack.
"Have you thought of something?" asked Ato hopefully, shifting his
oranges from one shoulder to the other.
"Yes," stated the former Pirate solemnly, "I have." Samuel was secretly
delighted to have found a way to carry this superb herbivorous specimen
back to Oz. "I'll build her a raft and tow her along after the ship.
We'll stop at all the islands we come to for fresh water and grass, and
meanwhile she'll have to do with salt baths and such food as we have in
the hold."
"Oh, KOBO! Did you hear that?" Springing up with the first signs of
life or feeling he had yet shown, Tandy flung himself on his huge
champion and friend. "So you're really going. Then I'll go too."
"Can't be all bad, if he's as fond of her as all that," whispered Ato
in Samuel's ear.
"Not bad, just a pest," wheezed Samuel, reaching for his ax. "Needs a
taste of the rope, if you ask me." Then, while Nikobo went for a last
swim in the Biggenlittle River and bade goodbye to her numerous and
wondering relatives, Samuel felled trees, split wood, and with nails
Roger fetched from the ship fashioned a splendid strong raft for their
new pet. Round the edge he built a sturdy railing to keep Nikobo from
sliding off in a rough sea. Ato and Roger, taking thought for the
evening meal, heaped one end of the raft with grass and twigs and all
the jungle roots they could gather. Without moving or offering to help,
Tandy sat watching, and just as the sun sank down behind the palms, a
strange procession started out for the _Crescent Moon_. Ahead with the
keg of nails soared Roger. Then came the hippopotamus moving like a
small dreadnought through the water. On her back sat Ato, the haughty
young King of Ozamaland, and Samuel Salt. Samuel rode last, holding in
his hand the long cable he had attached to the raft and with which he
meant to fasten it to the _Crescent Moon_.
Following his orders, Nikobo swam close to the side of the ship so
Tandy and Ato could climb the rope ladder, then she paddled round to
the stern where Samuel drew his cable through an iron ring in the
ship's hull and made the raft fast. There was a runway at the back of
the raft and the rails on that side let down so that Nikobo had no
trouble clambering aboard. By pulling a rope with her teeth, she could
raise or lower the back of her pen and take a swim whenever she felt
the need of one. After giving her a bit of advice about voyaging, and
seeing her comfortably settled, Samuel climbed the cable and nimbly
pulled himself aboard his ship. Roger had already stowed their precious
specimens in the hold and rubbing his hands with brisk satisfaction,
the Captain of the _Crescent Moon_ weighed anchor and dropped with
the tide down the Biggenlittle River to the sea. Then touching the
automatic controls, he set his sails to catch the evening breeze,
adjusted his steering gear for a course east by sou'east and strode
happily into his cabin. The Salamander chirped cheerfully as he passed
her hot box and after tapping a cheerful greeting on the lid, the weary
explorer stripped off his ruined and muddy shore-going outfit, took a
shower and climbed thankfully back into his old sea clothes.
"Where's the pest?" he called out as Roger flew past the open port.
"Well, since he was so small and important," sniffed the Read Bird,
waving a claw, "I gave him a large cabin to himself. I didn't think you
and Ato would want him in here."
"Shiver my timbers, NO." Samuel looked ruefully across at the small
berth the Philadelphia boy occupied on their last voyage. "He'll never
be the seaman Peter was, nor the company either. He'd better keep out
of my way, HAH! or I'll give him a taste of my belt." Snatching up his
spyglass and looking as stern as a kind-hearted pirate well can, Samuel
hurried out on deck.
Meanwhile, in the cabin next to the Captain's, Tandy stood regarding
himself mournfully in the small glass over his sea chest. He too had
taken a shower and at Roger's suggestion had donned one of Peter's old
pirate suits.
"I am a King and the son of a King's son," muttered Tandy, staring
sadly at the sallow reflection in the mirror. To tell the truth, the
suit was not in the least becoming to the skinny and sullen young
monarch.
"I am a King and son of a King's son and can bear anything," he
repeated dismally.
"Then bear a hand with the dinner," yelled Roger, who had been peeking
at him through the port hole. "All who eat must work, and under the
hatches with lubbers!"
Pretending not to hear, Tandy sat resignedly on the side of his bunk,
though he really was curious to look around the ship and see what
Kobo was doing. From the galley came the cheerful rattle of pots and
pans and the huge voice of Ato singing as he prepared the dinner.
Gulls flew in excited circles all round the _Crescent Moon_, calling
out their hoarse challenge and farewell, and Samuel Salt, leaning
on the taffrail, gazed dreamily back at Patrippany Island. The Oz
flags fluttering from the tall palms gave it quite a gay and festive
appearance and in spite of not seeing the Leopard Men, Samuel felt he
had done a good day's discovering.
"Ahoy, below! How you coming?" called Samuel, leaning down to look at
Nikobo. The hippopotamus wagged her huge head.
"Fine! Just fine, Mate," she wheezed pleasantly.
"Hah! Good for you!" Samuel's face broke into a broad grin as Kobo
remembered to call him "Mate." "We'll make an able-bodied seawoman of
you yet, my lass!"